Parshas NoachUnderstanding the Faith of Noach

Rabbi Yosef Kalatsky

1. Understanding Noach's Challenge

The Torah tells us that Hashem commanded Noach to build a Tevah (Ark)
according to specific dimensions. The project of building the Tevah and
the gathering of all the food that was meant to feed the species who were
to enter the Tevah took Noach 120 years. The Torah states, "Noach did
according to everything G-d commanded him, so he did." Rashi explains that
this verse is referring to the fact that Noach followed Hashem's
instructions regarding the building of the Tevah exactly. The question is
why does the Torah need to tells us that Noach did exactly as Hashem
commanded him? Why would think otherwise since the Torah tells us that
Noach was devout and perfect in all of his generations?

When the Torah refers to the Choke (Statute) of the Par Adumah (Red Heifer)
it expresses itself as, "Zos chukkas ha'Torah (This is the Statute of the
Torah)." The Midrash tells us that the Statute of the Par Adumah was not
comprehendible even to Shlomo HaMelech (King Solomon (who is the wisest man
to ever live). As he states in Ecclesiastes, "It is beyond me." Meaning
although we, as human beings, may have difficulty understanding this
Statute we must follow it without question because it is the Decree of
Hashem. Rashi cites the Midrash- "It is My decree and you have no right to
question it." The Statute of the Red Heifer is beyond human comprehension
because the service of the Par Adumah, which is the process of removing the
spiritual impurity of the contamination of the dead, purifies the person
who was contaminated and contaminates the person who is in a pure state...
If the Par Adumah inherently has the ability to purify then why does it
contaminate the person who is pure? This contradiction exists only in the
human realm; however, in the Divine realm there is no
contradiction. Therefore the Torah states, "This is THE decree" - meaning
that we must adhere to it regardless of our lack of understanding.

The specifications of Noach's Ark were approximately six hundred feet in
length and one hundred feet in width and sixty feet in height. This Ark
was meant to contain two of every non-Kosher species (including all
reptiles, insects birds, domesticated and undomesticated animals) land and
seven of every Kosher species, in addition to Noach and his family. It
would seem that it is impossibility for this limited structure to
accommodate this endless number of creatures. The building of the Ark would
be an exercise of futility since something of a limited dimension cannot
contain something beyond its capacity. It should have been reasonable that
Noach would have had difficulty assuming this endeavor of the Ark because
of the impossibility of its reality. Noach with unswerving faith in Hashem
immediately began building the Ark. This is the meaning of the verse,
"Noach did according to everything G-d commanded him, so he did."

The Midrash tells us that one of the reasons Noach built the Ark over 120
years was so that the people of the generation should see him building it
and ask him -what it's the purpose of this structure? By engaging in
dialogue with the members of his generation, Noach would have the
opportunity to alert them to the pending world destruction if they do not
make corrections in their lives and do teshuvah (repent). Noach built the
Ark despite the ridicule that he would receive when he would respond that
the purpose of the Ark was to accommodate an endless number of living
species - which was physically impossible. Noach nevertheless did not
waiver and was not deterred.

On a human level, one is able to understand the Splitting of the Sea
because it is simply a question of parting the waters (which is not beyond
Hashem's ability); however, putting thousands of gallons of water into a
three-ounce cup is beyond the human capacity to comprehend. One of the
miracles which took place in the Bais HaMikdash (The Temple) was that
although on Yom Kippur all those who were present in the Sanctuary stood
pressed together - when they heard the pronouncement of the Name of Hashem
by the High Priest, all those present prostrated themselves to their full
length without any difficulty. The Bais HaMikdash in the physical context
had a specific dimension; however, vis-à-vis its functionality it had an
unlimited capacity.

We are limited to the physical realm and cannot comprehend anything beyond
that. Noach was able to negate his understanding to such a degree that he
was able to follow the Dictate of Hashem regardless of his inability to
comprehend the impossible. This aspect of Noach's greatness is being
communicated to us by the verse, "Noach did according to everything G-d
commanded him so he did."

In life we face situations that are not comprehendible; however, if Hashem
says that events will unfold in a certain manner then we accept them as
fact. For example, at the end of time the Jewish people will confronted by
all the nations of the world at the time of the Armageddon and ultimately
we will defeat them. How is it possible that relatively speaking a handful
of people are able to defeat an unlimited enemy? The answer is that if this
is what Hashem has communicated to us through the Prophets then it will
take place in its proper time. This is something that goes
unquestioned. This is the perspective that a Jew must have. Noach is
building the Ark, according to the specifications prescribed by Hashem to
accommodate an unlimited number of animals, is the equivalent of following
the Choke (Statute) of the Red Heifer.

2. The Importance of Identifying the Tzaddik

The Portion of Noach begins, "These are the offspring of Noach..." Then,
the Torah digresses by saying, "Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his
generations; Noach walked with G-d." Rashi addresses the question - if the
Torah intended to discuss the offspring of Noach, then why interject a
description of Noach as a righteous man. He cites Chazal, based on a verse
in Mishlei (Proverbs), "A tzaddik must be remembered in a context of
blessing." Meaning, once a tzaddik is mentioned one must describe his
praiseworthiness. Therefore, when the Torah mentions Noach it must state,
"Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations..." How do we
understand this principle stated by Shlomo HaMelech in Proverbs? The verse
from Mishlei concludes, "The names of the Evil should rot" - in other words
should be blotted out.

Rabbeinu Chananel (one of the early commentators) asks a question, "Since
Hashem knows the future then why did He bring tzaddikim into existence when
He already knows that the tzaddik will succeed?" Why must the tzaddik
experience all of the difficulties of life if Hashem knows that he will
succeed despite them? The evil person must come into existence because he
can only be culpable for his sins if he actually chooses to transgress.
Rabbeinu Chananel answers that the tzaddik does not exist for his own
sake. Rather, he exists to be the role model for all humanity so that a
true model of goodness can be observed. Therefore, the tzaddik needs to
exist in order to exemplify righteousness in the world. However, if he is
an unknown entity, humanity will not understand true goodness nor have the
ability to choose between good and evil. Therefore Shlomo HaMelech states
in Mishlei that when we speak of a tzaddik he should be identified as such
and his praiseworthiness and specialness should be made known. It is not
enough to mention Noach and then describe his offspring. The Torah must
identify Noach as the tzaddik so that the world can appreciate him as the
role model of devoutness since that is his purpose in existence.

The Torah mentioned the righteousness of Noach in the context of fathering
his children so that we can understand why they merited surviving the Great
Flood. The offspring survived only in the merit of their father. As Rashi
explains in the Portion of Bereishis (Genesis), the offspring of Noach were
considered "minors" because they were less than one hundred years old at
the time of the Great Flood (before the Flood anyone less than one hundred
years old was considered a minor).

3. The Relevance of Noach's Righteousness to Mankind

As we said earlier, Rashi cites the Midrash's explanation that when one
mentions a tzaddik one should acknowledge his praiseworthiness. If the
Torah wanted to highlight this special dimension of Noach, then why not
simply start the Portion with, "Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his
generations; Noach walked with
G-d" and then discuss the offspring of Noach? Why interrupt one statement
with the other? Evidently, there must be a connection between the
importance of the "offspring" of Noach and his classification as a tzaddik.

All of the families that descended from Adam perished in the Great Flood
except for Noach and his family. Therefore, in essence Noach is the father
of all mankind and is the antecedent of all humanity; all the
characteristics that he possessed were inherited by his descendents. Every
human being, both Jew and non-Jew have relevance to the potential of Noach.
At this point, it is important to acknowledge Noach as the tzaddik because
it informs us about the characteristics which mankind inherited from him
and therefore we all have the chance to be the tzaddik.

The potential of every non-Jew is demonstrated by the righteousness of
Noach. The potential of every Jew is even greater because he also has
relevance to the spiritual characteristics and accomplishments of the
Patriarchs - Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov from whom every Jew
descends. The Rambam states in Hilchos Teshuvah (The Laws of Teshuvah),
"Every human being has the ability to choose the good path to be the
tzaddik. Additionally, every person also has the ability to choose the
evil path and become a rasha. Let it not pass into your mind, like the
fools of the nations of the world say, that Hashem has predetermined who
will be the tzaddik or who will be the rasha. There is no basis to
this. Every person can become a tzaddik like Moshe Rabbeinu or a rasha
like Yiravam Ben Nevot."

The Torah first tells us "These are the offspring of Noach..." to inform us
that all mankind descends from Noach. Then the Torah describes Noach's
spiritual status as perfect and as the tzaddik in order to inform us that
this is within the potential of Man vis-à-vis free choice. Every person
has relevance to achieve a level of righteousness as Noach did and every
Jew has relevance to the spirituality of the Patriarchs. As the Tanah
D'Eei Eliyahu states, every Jew should ask himself, "When will my
accomplishments be as great as my Forefathers - Avraham, Yitzchak and
Yaakov?" These are the standards that we should aim to achieve.

4. Noach's Level of Faith

After the 120-year project of building the Ark was complete, the Torah
states," Noach, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives with him, went
into the Ark because of the waters of the Flood." Rashi cites Chazal, who
explain that Noach was deficient in his faith because he questioned if the
Great Flood would actually take place. In fact, Noach did not enter the
Tevah until he was forced to because of the Floodwaters. The Torah clearly
states the fact that Noach only entered the Tevah under duress. A previous
verse states, "And Noach did according to everything that Hashem had
commanded him." Rashi explains that this verse is telling us that Noach
entered the Tevah as Hashem commanded him. The question is how do we
reconcile these two verses? One indicates that Noach had complete faith in
Hashem because he entered the Ark as Hashem commanded him; the latter tells
us that he only entered the Ark under duress because of the Floodwaters.

Over the course of the 120-year period when Noach was building the Tevah,
the members of his generation would approach him every year and ask him,
"Why are you building this Ark?" Noach would respond by telling them,
"Hashem will bring a Flood upon existence in 120 years if mankind does not
do teshuvah." On the 120th anniversary of the building of the Ark, the
members of his generation approached Noach and asked him, "Where is the
Flood that you have been telling us about?" Noach did not know what to
respond. He was in a quandary not knowing if it would actually happen.

Prior to the Flood all of the species of animals, and all living creatures,
began to flock to the Tevah from all four corners of the earth. Every
species of creature in existence entered the Ark, which was a sight never
seen before. One would think that upon witnessing such a miracle that the
people of Noach's generation would understand that the end was approaching
as Noach predicted. However, they did not respond. After all of the
creatures were in the Tevah it began to rain and the people still did not
take this as an indication that the end of existence was at hand nor did
they do teshuvah. Because they did not make the necessary corrections,
they were destroyed by the Floodwaters together with existence.

On the other hand, although Noach initially questioned whether the Flood
would occur or not, nevertheless he understood that the end was near when
the Floodwaters began to rise. It was his choice to process that final
experience in its proper context and enter into the Tevah. Unlike the
members of his generation, who were obstinate and refused to acknowledge
the Hand of Hashem.

We may experience difficult times in our lives, which could in fact be the
basis for a turning point to do teshuvah. Often when a person is subjected
to hardship, he turns to Hashem and mends his ways. However, this is not
necessarily the case. Many people do not recognize their shortcomings nor
do teshuvah even if they have suffering in their lives. However, even if a
person is forced into doing teshuvah because of his hardships, that
teshuvah still has value. The reason for this is that although it is done
under duress, nevertheless it is attributed to his acknowledgement and
understanding that difficulties emanate from his spiritual failings. This
is why the Torah goes out of its way to tell us, "Noach, with his sons, his
wife, and his sons' wives with him, went into the Ark because of the waters
of the Flood" to indicate that Hashem values when we do the right thing
despite the fact that it is done under duress. The Kindness of Hashem is
like a parent to a child. The moment the child makes a move to correct his
ways, (despite the parent's involvement behind the scenes), the parent will
value the child's teshuvah and accept him immediately.

5. Noach's Inability to Acknowledge his Failure

Rashi cites Chazal, who explain that Noach was a small believer because he
doubted if the Great Flood would actually occur. Therefore, the Torah
tells us that Noach needed to be forced into the Ark by the
Floodwaters. Noach devoted 120 years of his life to building the Ark and
gathering all of the food that was necessary for the animals. On the 120th
anniversary of Noach's project, an endless species of animals began to
enter the Ark indicating that the end of existence was near, just as Hashem
had told Noach. Nevertheless, Noach resisted until he was forced to enter
by the rising Floodwaters. Evidently, Noach believed that the Flood was
not going to occur. How do we understand this?

Perhaps Noach believed that because Hashem is All Merciful he would not
destroy the world despite the failings of his generation. The only reason
Noach initially built the Ark was to engage them in dialogue so he could
convince them to do teshuvah - under the threat of destruction. Before the
Floodwaters actually began to rise, Noach had difficulty believing that the
destruction of the world was going to occur.

Another understanding is that since Hashem had told Noach that the Flood
was only going to occur if the people of his generation did not repent and
correct their ways, his mission and responsibility was to influence them to
do teshuvah and avert the destruction of existence. The Prophet refers to
the waters of the Flood as "Mai Noach - the waters of Noach" indicating
that since Noach failed in his mission, the world was being destroyed by
the Great Flood. Because Noach was a tzaddik who was perfect in his
generations and intimate with G-d, he had the potential to succeed at his
mission of influencing the world positively. However, he did not succeed
despite all of his efforts. After 120 years, Hashem told Noach to enter
into the Ark indicating that he had failed in his mission. The destruction
of the world was due to his failing. Noach had difficulty accepting that
he failed in his mission because he knew that he had been capable of
turning his generation around. Therefore, Hashem had to force Noach to
understand that he had failed through the rising of the Floodwaters.

The Gemara in Tractate Sanhedrin tells us that when Moshe Rabbeinu became
frustrated with leading the Jewish people by himself, Hashem told him to
appoint seventy elders to assist him. Moshe used a lottery method to
determine who would be the seventy elders to assist him. Given the number
of eligible people, Moshe wrote the word "elder" on seventy pieces of
parchment and wrote nothing on two of them. Moshe chose seven elders from
each of the twelve tribes and had them draw lots. The seventy who had drawn
lots with the word "elder" were chosen while the two who drew the blank
lots were told by Moshe, "Hashem has no interest in you." Although every
one of the seventy-two individuals seemed to have met the grade as an
elder, nevertheless the two that were rejected were blatantly told that
they were not qualified and had no choice but to accept that reality.

Korach, a Levite by birth, was a wise elder and the wealthiest Jew,
believed that after Moshe and Aaron, he was the most qualified for the
appointment. When Korach was not chosen to be the leader of the Levites and
was passed over by a younger cousin, he was incensed. He could not accept
the fact that it was due to his own spiritual deficiency. Rather, he
attributed it to nepotism and thought that Moshe deliberately passed him
over. Because of his unwillingness to accept the fact that Hashem rejected
him, he attempted to usurp Moshe's authority, which in fact would have
destroyed the Jewish people.

Noach could not accept that he, the tzaddik of the generation, had not
succeeded in influencing the people of his generation to do
teshuvah. Noach's ego prevented him from willingly admitting failure and
from entering the Ark upon the command of Hashem. He had to be forced by
the Floodwaters to accept failure.